Back in 1995, for a cabaret song in his film, Baazi, Aamir Khan waxed his body to get into character of a woman. And for the eight-odd days that the song was being shot, he’d diligently sit in the make-up chair for five hours every morning, having inches of greasepaint slapped over his face — layer
by layer.

Evidently, he didn’t hate it so much, for Aamir returned as a woman twice — in 2005 and 2008 — for two different TV ads. Now, he’s doing it yet again, for a new commercial. “It’s a comedy of errors where Aamir plays himself, researching the role of a woman. So he dresses as a woman and visits his neighbour’s house, which leads to some funny instances,” reveals Mickey Contractor, the make-up artiste who has been responsible for Aamir’s transformation each of the four times. Aamir, who was shooting for PK in Jaipur recently, called Mickey there for a trial.

Aamir Khan’s look from the upcoming commercial. (HT Photo)

“We realised the wig wasn’t working, and we wanted a few other changes as well after that test,” recalls the make-up artiste. “So we came back and worked on it. On the day of the shoot, everything came together. Aamir was a bit irritated with the wig and the net that we stuck to the side. He had to shave at least twice a day, wear stockings, a bra and a woman’s costume.”

Mickey reveals that it took him two-and-a-half hours to get the actor ready for the shot. “I customised the base colour for him, but apart from that, I used regular products like eyeliners, eyeshadow and lipsticks. His eyes are his best feature; I enhanced them with a smokey look to make the brown colour of his eyes stands out. I curled his fake lashes, which added to his suffering,” he explains.

And how was Aamir as a model?“I must admit he did a good job,” says Mickey. “He tried to be cheerful and just smiled through the discomfort.”

Dibyojyoti Baksi reports

Raising AzadAamir Khan and Kiran Rao’s son Azad has turned 15 months old. An elated Kiran says, “He is now full of energy. He is learning new words that he keeps repeating. He is getting up to mischief as well. He can get up on his toes now, and he is great fun to be around.”

After her directorial debut with Dhobi Ghat (2011), Kiran kept herself away from work to concentrate on raising Azad. Now, with her son a little older, she is getting back to work. “I have started writing something,” says Kiran.